1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns a contactless connection system and method for communicating digital information between a portable data-gathering device and a data-using device. In a preferred embodiment, it employs the system and method to communicate from a data-gathering medication event monitor to a reader-display computer/terminal. The medication event monitor is used to gather data regarding a patient's compliance with a medication regimen and/or patient-initiated or entered data concerning the patient's condition or compliance, and these data are transferred to a device where they can be read or displayed or otherwise used. Contactless connection can also be used to power up the portable device or to send other signals between the devices.
2. Background Information
There is an increasing understanding throughout the health care community that information concerning patient compliance with medication regimens is important. Understanding whether or not medications have been timely taken facilitates correct diagnosis of disease states. It also facilitates a correct understanding of drug effectiveness.
A number of devices have been proposed to keep track of a patient's drug dose taking patterns. See, for example:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,725,997, issued Feb. 16, 1988 to John Urquhart et al.;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,695,954, issued Sep. 22, 1987 to Robert J. Rose et al.;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,652, issued Jun. 23, 1987 to Edward M. Aten et al.;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,537, issued May 5, 1987 to James L. Wolf et al.; and
U.S. Pat. No. 4,616,316, issued Oct. 7, 1986 to John A. Hanpeter et al.,
for representative disclosures of devices which collect drug dispensing information.
In these representative devices of the art, it is common to have a clock generating a real time or elapsed time signal, a switch of some sort to signal when a dose is taken, and a memory for electronically recording the time at which each dosing signal is received. In these devices, this mechanism can often be associated with the container for the medication itself. This offers advantages of portability and ease of patient use.
The fact that the record of drug dose compliance is stored in the memory of a patient-portable device means that there must be a way to debrief the device and download the device memory. This makes the information contained in the memory accessible to the health care professional overseeing the patient's progress or to the patient him- or herself. This need for access means that there must be a data port of some sort provided in the medication monitor. This data port is used to access information contained in the memory of the patient-portable device and also can be used to feed information into the device. Examples of information which might be fed into the device include a desired dose regimen. The patient-portable device could use this information to trigger alarms at suitable time intervals. The information could also be general instructions or the like for the device to display to the patient at dosing times. An explanation of these types of displays is provided in above-referenced U.S. Pat. No. 4,725,997, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Heretofore, this data port in the medication event monitoring unit has been in the form of a multi-terminal plug body. In the field, however, a plug body connection can have shortcomings. For one, the plug body can short out if wet, which can occur in bathroom and kitchen settings. For another, it can become clogged with debris, especially with pill containers which are often carried in pockets or purses. In addition, since these devices are typically quite small and the plug bodies miniaturized, there is a real opportunity for misuse and damage during the connecting and disconnecting with the plug body. A need has been identified for a device and method for quickly and accurately providing a data transmission port into and out of portable data-gathering devices. This need arises in many applications. These can include transmitting digital information into and out of time clocks, into and out of digital recorders, and the like. An improved port into portable data-gathering devices might also be advantageous for feeding power into the device.